The present invention relates in general to a printing apparatus having a carriage which is movable along a platen and carries a print head to effect printing along a line parallel to the length of the platen, and more particularly to supporting and mounting structures for mounting the print head in position on the carriage.
In the art of assembling a printer, it has been a common practice to use fasteners such as screws for mounting the print head on the carriage. In this case, the carriage is formed with a protrusion or boss having tapped holes, and the print head has a mounting portion, for example, a pair of flanges extending from its opposite lateral sides. The print head is secured to the carriage by fixing the flanges to the protrusion of the carriage with the screws threaded in the tapped holes. The print head and the carriage have abutting surfaces for accurately positioning the print head relative to the carriage. However, it has been found difficult and cumbersome to mount the print head by way of tightening the fasteners with a suitable tool while holding the print head so as to permit close abutting contact of the positioning surfaces and establish accurate alignment of the print head with the carriage.